


Daughter of Disgrace

by Laitie



Category: Swan Princess (1994)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-05-28 16:53:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15053642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laitie/pseuds/Laitie
Summary: Rothbart had a daughter. A young daughter. What happens to her after Rothbart's death?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I see I have spelled Derek's name wrong this whole time. I'm not going to fix it right now. Please just enjoy the story for what it is, and I will fix Derek's name later.

“The food keeps disappearing,” the cook was telling Odette one morning, a week after the wedding. “We have a thief on our hands, and a good one, too.”

“I know each and every one of the people in this castle very well,” Odette said. “Not one would be stealing food.”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” the cook said, “but I don’t know them.” 

“You can trust them,” Odette repeated firmly. “We feed our staff and guests well. If someone is stealing, then it’s someone in need. I will put everyone on the task of finding out who isn’t getting fed.” 

The cook sighed but nodded obediently. “Yes, Your Majesty,” she said.

With that, the princess left the kitchens to meet her husband by the lake.   
\--  
“You’re late,” Derrick said with a laugh as Odette approached.

“Sorry,” she said, sitting down on the blanket beside him. “The cook was telling me that there has been food stolen.”

He frowned. “A lot?” he asked.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Barely noticeable. But...” she sighed. “She doesn’t trust all the staff from your side. She’s never met them.”

“Understandable,” he said with a shrug.

“But I have,” she insisted. “And I trust them.”

“As do I,” he said. “If someone is stealing food, they must be in real need.”

“Yes, that’s what I told her.”

“But we feed our staff well, don’t we?” he asked.

She nodded. They silently reached for their plates and ate as they thought.

“Could it be anyone left over from Rothbart?” Derrick suggested.

“We searched the whole castle before the wedding,” Odette said. “There was no one.”

“Well...” He bit his lip.

“Well, what?” she asked him, looking over at him suspiciously.

He sighed. “I didn’t want to worry you before the wedding, so I didn’t let anyone say anything to you. But some of my people had found a room that looked to have been inhabited lately. An extra room; not Rothbart’s or Bridget’s.”

Her eyes widened. “How did I not see it?” she asked.

“It’s hidden,” he said. “Behind a wardrobe.”

“Derrick, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” he said.

“Show me this bedroom,” she demanded, packing up their picnic. “Now.”

He sighed, but helped her pack up.  
\--  
“This way,” Derrick said, leading her down the hallway, holding a torch.

“Are there any clues as to who lived in there?” Odette asked.

He frowned as he led her into a receiving room, and then a bedroom. “Perhaps a child,” he said as he approached a wardrobe and opened it wide, revealing its emptiness. Odette looked at him uncertainly, but he handed her the torch and climbed into the empty wardrobe. He began pushing on the wood in the back. It gave with little effort. Carefully, he pushed the wood more and grabbed the edge, pushing it aside. 

The hole was now big enough for them to get through, and he took the torch and led his wife inside. 

The room was small and windowless, with three sconces for torches. Derrick placed the torch into a sconce by the bed on the other side of the room as they gazed around. 

There was little furniture. A chest here and a chest there, and another wardrobe by the bed. There was a small rag doll on the unmade bed. There were crumbs and some chicken bones on the floor.

“We found where our thief is hiding,” Derrick said.

Odette peered at the wardrobe. The door was opened just a crack. She shared a look with Derrick before approaching. Derrick reached out and took her arm. “Let me,” he said quietly. She stepped back and allowed him to advance. He approached this other wardrobe and slowly creaked open the door. 

“NO!” The child screamed and tried to push the startled Derrick out of the way. But Derrick was quick to regain his senses and grabbed her as she was stepping out. “NO!” the girl screamed, beginning to cry. “LET ME GO!”

“Calm down!” Derrick muttered as he struggled to hold the girl still. “We aren’t going to hurt you.”

“Yes you are!” the girl yelled. “You killed my papa!”

The girl’s announcement startled him so that she managed to break from him. She faced the two of them, hatred raging in her brown eyes. Her bright red hair was a tangled, knotted mess from days of not being tended to. She had dirt on her face and tears in her dress. The resemblance to Rothbart was uncanny.

“I hate you!” she yelled at them. “You killed my papa!” She held out her hands and they began to spark. Yellow lightning flashed between her fingers.

“No, wait!” Odette cried, reaching out. 

Then the girl’s magic fizzled out.

The girl grunted and tried again, only for her magic to fizzle out again. Helpless, her magic not working, she fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed.

“Oh...” Odette sighed, going to her. She took the child in her arms. The last thing the girl wanted was to be comforted by these monsters. But she couldn’t resist her need for any comfort at all. She clung to the princess, crying into her silky-white dress.

Derrick and Odette spoke at the same time. Derrick saying “I’ll go get Bridget” as Odette was saying “Go get Bridget.” They nodded at each other before Derrick left.

The girl cried for five of the ten minutes Derrick was gone. The other five minutes she was silent, despite Odette’s attempts at asking her questions.

Bridget rushed into the room, several steps ahead of Derrick. “Child!” the maid cried, one of the few words she could at least kind of articulate. She took the girl’s face in her hands and looked her over. The girl allowed her, showing no emotion. Bridget dropped her hands and took hold of the girl’s hands gently, squeezing them. The relief on her face showed the concern she’d been holding inside for weeks. 

Eventually, the anger returned and re-energized the girl. She pushed Bridget away with all the force her little body could muster. “I hate you!” she cried, standing and pulling away from Odette. “They killed Papa! And you’re friends with them! You’re a monster!”

“Child--” Odette tried.

“No!” she screamed. “You killed him! You killed him and left me all alone!”

“We didn’t know,” Derrick said, climbing in. She turned to glare at him. “We didn’t know he had a...a daughter...”

“Well he did!” she said. “And now you’ve killed him and he’s gone forever and I’m all alone forever and ever!”

Odette dropped a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. Before she could be brushed off, she said, “We’ll find you a new home.” The girl gazed over at her. “I promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

Odette and Derrick couldn’t have quelled the news of their newest finding no matter how hard they tried. By the time the girl was bathed, dressed in clean clothes, and her hair combed and braided, the entire palace knew of Rothbart’s daughter. But the king and queen tried to keep most of the servants away from her for now. At least until they had more information.

They sat the girl in Odette’s receiving room, decorated in white and blue with plenty of plushy chairs and couches to choose from. Odette and the girl sat beside each other on the couch, the girl fiddling with the rag doll from her bed. Derrick stood by the window, watching the servants gossip outside. 

“What’s your name?” Odette asked the girl.

“Roberta,” she muttered out, not taking her eyes away from her doll.

“That’s a pretty name,” Odette said. She glanced up at her husband. “Isn’t it, Derrick?”

Derrick blinked and glanced at her before shrugging noncommittally. “Yes, it is,” he said.

She frowned at his back and turned back to Roberta. “My name’s Odette.”

Roberta didn’t respond.

“How old are you?”

“Seven.”

“Wow, you’re big.”

Silence.

“Do you--”

“You need to know something about your father,” Derrick said, pulling away from the window and looking down at the girl.

“Derrick,” Odette scolded, giving him a warning look. Now was not the time.

Derrick ignored her. “Your father was--”

“The best papa ever!” Roberta announced, glaring up at him.

“A horrible man,” Derrick corrected her. “He killed people, Roberta. He killed a king!”

“That’s enough, Derrick!” Odette said, standing and stepping between them. “She’s just a child.”

“He’s brainwashed her!”

“This isn’t the way to handle it!”

Husband and wife glared at each other a moment before Derrick finally retreated back to the window.

Roberta had gone back to staring at her doll.

“What do you know of your mother?” Odette asked her gently as she sat back down.

Roberta shrugged. “Papa says that Momma’s very sick,” she said quietly. “She couldn’t take care of me anymore. So Papa took me away from her.”

“That must have been sad,” Odette said.

Again, Roberta shrugged.

“How old were you?”

“Four.”

Odette sighed. The girl was far too young to have been through so much. “Do you remember where you and your mother lived?”

“We lived in a little house,” she said. “People would come all the time for her magic stuff.” She shrugged. “I don’t know where it is, though.”

Odette frowned. The mother sounded like one of the many witches people would go to in the countryside. Besides, if her mother was, indeed, sick, she would be in no condition to care for the child. 

“Would you stay here, please?” Odette asked her. “My husband and I need to talk about...grown-up things.”

Roberta didn’t respond, but she didn’t look like she was about to move, either. So Odette stood and went to Derrick.

“We can’t trust her alone,” he said quietly.

“Oh, come now, she’s a child,” Odette scolded him softly.

“A child with magic. You saw what she did with her hands!”

“She couldn’t do much with it, could she?” Odette reasoned. “Come.” She took his arm and dragged him into the bedroom. She closed the door behind them. “We should take her in,” she said.

“What!?” Derrick demanded.

“It’s our fault she’s in this position,” Odette said.

“No, it’s Rothbart’s fault,” he argued.

“Rothbart’s dead,” she reasoned. “No one else will take her in.”

“We can’t risk it,” he said.

“We have to,” she retorted. “She’s just a child, Derrick. We can teach her.”

Derrick sighed. “She’s only seven, right?” he asked. She nodded. After a long moment, he said, “All right, fine. But we’ll have to watch her very closely.”

“We aren’t going to regret this,” she said. “I’m sure of it.”

She turned and opened the door.

Roberta was gone.

“‘We aren’t going to regret this’?” Derrick asked.

Odette rolled her eyes. “She couldn’t have gone far,” she said.

She was right. Just then, a scream was heard coming from the hallway. The couple raced out to it.

The scream echoed down the hall. Odette and Derrick raced towards its place of origin. The source was one of the servants, a middle-aged woman standing against the wall, hand clutching her chest.

“What happened!?” Derrick asked her.

“That demon child!” the servant said. “She was a bat out of Hell!”

“Where’d she go?” Odette asked. The servant pointed towards the stairs. The royal couple struggled not to trip as the ran down them. The girl had left quite a wake of startled servants in her path, but once they exited the palace, there was no sign of her.

“We have to find her,” Odette said breathlessly.

“Before she causes any harm,” Derrick added.

“Derrick, stop!” Odette scolded him. “She’s just a child! She could get hurt!” They immediately spread the word among the servants. Find her, but do not harm or startle her. Soon, the entire palace had put their duties on hold to find the child. They searched for hours. Derrick finally called most of the servants back when the sun began to set.

“Who knows what could happen to her?” Odette said helplessly.

“She’ll be fine,” Derrick assured. “She survived all that time without Rothbart and without us even knowing she was around.” She shrugged. “Besides, she’ll come back when she’s hungry.”

Odette frowned. “I hope you’re right,” she said. “But what if the guards scare her off?”

“Then we’ll continue the search in the morning,” he promised his wife.

She sighed. It seemed that was the best she could hope for. Reluctantly, she allowed her husband to usher her to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

It was late, that much was certain. But she wasn’t afraid. Roberta was used to exploring the world at night. She loved staring at the moon and the stars in the dark sky. The fireflies that danced around her. The music of the nocturnal animals and insects. The glory of nighttime.

But she was hungry. Her growling stomach interrupted the symphony of nighttime. And it was cold tonight. Not like it used to be. She shivered as the air cut through her thin dress. She was slowly making her way back to the palace. Her father’s palace. That was...no longer her father’s palace. 

Icy tears ran down her cheeks as she walked, finally approaching the edge of the trees. The guards still couldn’t see her. But she knew they would once she left the forest. She couldn’t keep up the hiding spell much longer.

With a sigh, she let go of the magic, and began building her courage to step out into the moonlight.

What was...?

A guard was talking to someone. By the door. Was it...?

It was the swan woman. The one that had been so nice to her. Even when she... Even when Roberta wasn’t nice back.

She felt her tears begin to fall again. She was so angry. But...sad, too. So sad and alone. She fell to her knees and began to sob. She just wanted her father back.

A few minutes later, she felt arms around her. Gentle, warm arms. Wrapping a blanket around her. Holding her close and lifting her into the air. The swan woman was holding her to her chest.

“Shhhh...” she was saying. “It’s going to be all right, now.” Roberta merely wept into the blanket, curling into Odette. 

Roberta slept through the night that night. It was the first time since her father....that she had slept well. When she awoke, she thought, at first, that the previous months had all been a bad dream. She was in her old room. The one she had used when her father owned the palace. Bridget was bustling about the room silently. There was a cot beside her bed, but no one was on it.

Why was there a cot?

Then she was brought back to reality. It hadn’t been a dream. It was real. Her father was dead.

She covered her face as sobs began to escape her lips. Bridget was there in seconds, wrapping her arms around her. But Roberta shrugged Bridget away, screaming “NO!” Dejectedly, Bridget went to fetch Odette. 

When Odette got there, Roberta was still in the bed. She had pulled the covers over herself completely as she lay curled up in a ball, sobbing. She hated them. All of them. She hated everything. Nothing would make her forgive them for killing her papa. 

“Roberta, sweetheart,” Odette tried to soothe her. Roberta refused to respond. Odette crept closer. “You must be so hungry,” Odette went on, trying to sound casual. “Why don’t you come have some breakfast?”

“No!” came the girl’s muffled cry.

“Why not?” Odette asked gently.

“I hate you!” 

“But you must eat.”

“No!”

“We have toast and oatmeal all hot and ready for you.”

“No!”

“And some nice fresh goat’s milk.” 

There was silence. 

“And some strawberry jam,” Odette went on.

More silence.

“Do you like milk and strawberry jam?” Odette asked.

Slowly, a head poked out of the blankets. “Papa always had Bridget make sausage on special breakfast days...” Roberta said softly.

Odette grinned. “We have sausage, too,” she said. 

Roberta looked away from her. “I still hate you,” she said.

“That’s OK,” Odette said. “But it does take a lot of energy to hate, doesn’t it? You need some food to keep that energy up.”

Reluctantly, Roberta climbed out of the bed. Odette and Bridget held back their excitement as the girl walked over to them. “Where is it?” she asked.

“This way,” Odette said, leading the girl out of the room. 

Roberta stuck close to Odette as they walked the hallways, trying not to stare back at all the servants watching them go by. She knew they hated her. But she hated them, too. So it didn’t really matter. Nonetheless, their hateful stares were unnerving to the child. 

Odette led the girl to the kitchens and sat her down at a small table by the window. The cook roughly set food down in front of her, and that was when Roberta could no longer hold it in. She ate ravenously, devouring everything she could get her hands on. Bridget, glad to see the girl eat so well, clapped her hands excitedly. Odette also grinned at the sight before leaving the kitchens. 

She returned just as Roberta was finishing up, a collection of dresses in her arms. “These aren’t much,” Odette told the girl. “These were mine when I was a girl. They’re old and a little worn, but we’ll get you measured today and soon you’ll have new dresses of your very own.”

“I don’t want your dresses,” Roberta said sourly.

“You don’t have a choice,” Odette said, her tone firm but gentle. 

“I’m not wearing them,” Roberta insisted. 

“Would you rather go naked?” Odette suggested.

Roberta glared at the queen. After several long moments, she looked away. There were no words, but the girl knew she had lost.


	4. Chapter 4

“You know how to play chess?” Derek asked her later that day. They were in Odette’s receiving room while the queen was freshening up for a trip into the kingdom.

She nodded. “Papa taught me,” she said. “He said I’m very good at it. But he always beat me, anyways.” 

He frowned. “Let’s see how much he taught you, then,” he said, leading her to the chess table. She shrugged and followed him.

They were almost done when Odette came out. 

“You’re playing chess?” she asked.

“Yes, Roth--her father taught her,” Derek said. “I hate to say it, but she’s pretty good.”

“I’m no good,” Roberta said with a sigh. “You’re beating me.”

“But you’re only seven and you captured three of my pawns and one of my bishops,” Derek insisted, uncharacteristically encouraging. 

Odette grinned and pulled up a chair, watching the game.

Derek won, of course. But he continued to insist that Roberta did amazing for a seven-year-old. With that, Odette took Roberta’s hand and led the two of them out of the room towards the stables.

“Do you know how to ride a horse?” Odette asked Roberta as they walked.

“No,” Roberta said.

“Then you’ll ride with me,” she decided.

“I don’t know...” Derek said. 

“What? Why?” Odette asked.

“Everyone knows who’s daughter she is by now,” he said. “It might not be...safe.”

“We have to teach them and her--”

“What I mean is,” he went on, “I should have her with me.”

She blinked. “You would...do that for her?”

“I would do it for you,” he said, not admitting that he was more worried about the girl than he was about Odette. 

She grinned knowingly. “Thank you,” she said and turned to Roberta. “Will you ride with Derek?” she asked.

Roberta shrugged. “I guess,” she said softly.

“Then it’s settled,” she said with a smile.

Once they reached the stables and were saddled up, a servant took Roberta in his arms and handed her to Derek. He seated her side-saddled in front of him and made sure she was holding on tightly.

“Don’t let go,” he said. “It’ll hurt a lot if you fall.”

“OK,” Roberta said.

He clicked his stallion on and met Odette on the road. They held hands for a minute.

“Here we go,” Odette said.

“Here we go,” he agreed.

“Here we go,” Roberta echoed. They grinned at her before taking a big breath and heading into town.

The townspeople were confused, to say the least. They loved their king and queen. But their choice to accept and flaunt Rothbart’s daughter? They made it clear that this had not been a good choice, in their opinions. They booed and threw things at them. It wa mostly directed at Derek’s horse because that was where Roberta was, of course. But not everyone in town had the best aim. It wasn’t long before Odette had had enough. 

She approached a nearby building with a balcony and dismounted, heading inside. Derek and Roberta stared at each other confusedly as the townspeople gathered around the building. Finally, Odette appeared on the balcony and raised her hands for silence.

Quiet fell.

“My beloved people,” Odette began, loud and clear throughout the streets. “I understand your concern. Your fear. Your pain. But you must all remember this one thing. She is just a child. A child who has lost her home and her family. Despite who that family was, she is now alone in the world. We must come together and help her as we help all those who suffer. Please. Help me teach her that the world is not as cruel as her father was.”

There was silence in the crowd. Derek looked out at all the conflicted faces. The people torn between guilt and distrust. Fear and hope. Pain and forgiveness. He sighed. It was going to take more than one little lecture like this to teach everyone.

Nonetheless, Odette seemed satisfied. She re-entered the building and came out a few minutes later, re-mounting her horse. The crowd made a path for them to journey back to the castle. Odette and Derek looked at each other a moment before complying.

“Well that was a disaster,” Derek said later, back in Odette’s receiving room. Roberta was in the bedroom, taking a nap in Odette’s bed. It seemed the ride had tired her out. 

“I thought it went very well,” Odette said, dealing the playing cards between them.

“The servants needing to wash down our horses would suggest otherwise,” Derek countered.

“Baby steps, love,” she told him. “Baby steps.”

“Odette?” Roberta asked, rubbing her eye as she stepped out of the bedroom.

Both king and queen jumped. She was so quiet! “Yes?” she asked the girl.

“Did you see my momma when we went into town?” 

Odette frowned and looked over at Derek. Derek lifted his hands in the air, palms out, as if to say ‘this is your jurisdiction.’ She sighed.

“No, Honey, I didn’t,” she said.

“When will she come see me?” she asked. “Papa said never. But now that Papa’s gone...” 

Odette frowned. “Come here, dear.” 

Roberta obliged, allowing the queen to pick her up and place her in her lap. Odette smoothed the girl’s hair as she thought of what to say. Roberta beat her to the punch.

“I miss Momma.” 

“I know you do,” Odette said. 

“Does Momma miss me?” 

Odette froze. “Your mother is very sick, remember?” Odette asked.

Roberta nodded. “And she can’t take care of me. But...But I want to take care of her.”

“Oh, you are such a sweetheart, aren’t you?”

Roberta shrugged.

“I’m sure that means a lot to her. But she still can’t see you right now. She’s too sick.”

“When can I see her?”

Odette sighed. “I don’t know, Dear.” 

Roberta frowned and stared at her hands. “OK,” she said.

“Come, do you know how to play cards?”

“A little.”

“We’ll teach you.”


End file.
